Today in History: Aug. 25

Today is Saturday, Aug. 25, the 238th day of 2012. There are 128 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:
On Aug. 25, 1537, King Henry VIII granted a royal charter incorporating the Honourable Artillery Company, the oldest regiment in the British Army.

On this date:
In 1718, hundreds of French colonists arrived in Louisiana, with some settling in present-day New Orleans.
In 1825, Uruguay declared independence from Brazil.
In 1916, the National Park Service was established within the Department of the Interior.
In 1921, the United States signed a peace treaty with Germany.
In 1943, U.S. forces liberated New Georgia in the Solomon Islands from the Japanese during World War II.
In 1944, Paris was liberated by Allied forces after four years of Nazi occupation.
In 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a measure providing pensions for former U.S. presidents and their widows.
In 1960, opening ceremonies were held for the Summer Olympics in Rome.
In 1981, the U.S. spacecraft Voyager 2 came within 63,000 miles of Saturn's cloud cover, sending back pictures of and data about the ringed planet.
In 1982, Archbishop Joseph L. Bernardin was installed as head of Chicago's Roman Catholic archdiocese.
In 1985, Samantha Smith, 13, the schoolgirl whose letter to Yuri V. Andropov resulted in her famous peace tour of the Soviet Union, died with her father in an airliner crash in Auburn, Maine.
In 2009, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy died at age 77 in Hyannis Port, Mass.

Ten years ago: China set Nov. 8, 2002, as the date for its long-awaited Communist Party national congress. Louisville, Ky., beat Sendai, Japan, 1-0 to win the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Pa. Former Swedish diplomat Per Anger, who'd worked with Raoul Wallenberg in shielding thousands of Hungarian Jews from Nazi death camps, died in Stockholm, Sweden, at age 88. Acclaimed bass-baritone William Warfield, best known for his rendition of "Ol' Man River" in the musical "Show Boat," died in Chicago at age 82.
Five years ago: The government of Greece declared a nationwide state of emergency as the death toll from wildfires rose to at least 49. Bombs blamed on Islamic extremists killed at least 43 people at a park and a street-side food stall in Hyderabad, India.
One year ago: Fifty-two people were killed in a fire at a casino in the northern Mexican city of Monterrey that was allegedly targeted by a drug cartel. The New York Yankees became the first team in major league history to hit three grand slams in a game, with Robinson Cano, Russell Martin and Curtis Granderson connecting in a 22-9 romp over the Oakland Athletics.